


Horse Hockey

by AcousticAntidote



Category: The Legend of Zelda, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Genre: Alternate Universe, Character Death, Countless Redshirts, Gen, Link is hella Ace, Mafia AU, Modern AU, The Legend of Bank Account: Critical Failure, and is almost the worst hitman ever, and is really good at parkour for some reason, and worth risking your life for apparently, craigslist horses are srs bsns, in which Midna is a mafia boss
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-12
Updated: 2016-05-06
Packaged: 2018-04-04 00:41:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 15,936
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4120249
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AcousticAntidote/pseuds/AcousticAntidote
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It had all started with a horse.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Shout out to Ymir14 for proofreading this.

It had all started with a horse.

 

He had been browsing the internet while taking a break from his never-ending search for a job, when he stumbled across the most adorable creature he had ever seen in his life. She was a 3 year-old flaxen chestnut ex-racehorse who had been injured in a fall and wasn’t fast enough to be considered for breeding. And she only cost-

 

Well.

 

Maybe “only” wasn’t the right word, but Link didn’t even want to _think_ about what might happen to her if no one gave her a good home.

 

So, he might have done something incredibly stupid.

 

Said action might have landed him in his current situation, which was running through the back alleys of Hyrule with a group of goons from one of the city’s biggest mafias on his tail.

 

They were after him for money, obviously. Not that he needed them to remind him of his financial woes.

 

Link wasn’t the richest guy in the city. Actually, that was an understatement. He could barely keep up with the rent for his tiny, hole-in-the-wall apartment, and feed himself at the same time. Somehow, he managed to scrape by between odd jobs, but what mattered was there was no way he could ever afford a horse.

 

The horse (who he learned was named, “Epona”) would be available for purchase for several days, so while he certainly had time, it would still be impossible for him to acquire such a large sum of money quickly.

 

That was, until he was approached by a shady-looking guy at a fast food joint about a block from home. The guy had to have noticed him scrolling through job listings on his laptop, but he didn’t offer him a job. Instead, he said that if Link needed money, he could get it for him, though he’d have to pay it all back. On time. No extensions. And, well…

 

Well, at least Epona had a decent life now. He’d been able to have her moved to a farm just outside of the city, thanks to the owner taking pity on him. It wasn’t a large place, so all he had to do was work a certain number of hours every week, and she could stay for as long as he did.

 

Link’s current circumstances made it rather difficult for him to leave the city, so he lied in a message to the farm owner saying he had been injured in an accident, and would be out of commission for awhile. The owner- goddesses bless him- had taken pity on him and told him he had several new hands around to help him now that it was summer, and that Link should take as long as he needed to recover. After all, hurting himself on the job would only result in more downtime.

 

Unfortunately, the mafia was not known nearly as well for its patience or hospitality, and a tug on Link’s shirt reminded him of exactly where he was. He put out a burst of speed before realizing he’d been chased towards a dead end, or, almost a dead end, anyway.

 

There was still one way out: a fire escape ladder had been left dangling just low enough for him to grab ahold of and climb if he jumped now with the distance he had on the guy closest behind him.

 

The jump was a success, but a swipe at his shoe made him hustle a bit more as he dashed up the fire escape to the top of the building. He heard the chaotic arguing of his pursuers below him as they tried to coordinate themselves into a line up the escape, and decided they were still a little bit too close for comfort. Fortunately, the buildings in this part of the city were close together, which made it a relatively easy feat for Link to get enough momentum to jump across the rooftops quickly.

 

Once he was a good five or six buildings away, he stopped to catch his breath. He could see the goons who had stopped chasing him and remained on the rooftop- all looking in his direction, but their expressions indiscernible from his distance. The number of people sent after him was increasing with every incident and it didn’t look like they were going to be letting up anytime soon. They had already tried taking any valuables from his apartment while he was out (the only valuable thing he owned was his his laptop which he took everywhere with him), they’d threatened to “take care” of his family (which he didn’t have), and they’d threatened to find and steal his car (of which he had none). Maybe the bigger groups meant they were trying to kill him now? Would they do that? What would they get out of killing a guy who had nothing to give?

 

Link sighed. He wasn’t sure he could handle anymore than the number of people already after him.

 

Which was probably why he didn’t expect the sixth guy.

 

Or the metal pipe.

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

The room was spinning sickeningly. Or was it his head? What day was it? Did he need to visit the farm today? Oh, goddesses, why did his head hurt so bad? Was he bleeding? There was no way he _wasn’t_ bleeding.

 

Link groaned and tried lifting his left hand to assess what kind of damage had been done to him, but found he could only move it a few inches from whatever surface he was lying on before it was stopped by something around his wrist. Cracking an eye open to figure out what it was only proved that the light made his head pound more painfully.

 

What happened to him?

 

Wherever it had landed him, sight wasn’t going to tell him much for the time being as his head was still throbbing from that first peek at the room. Fortunately, moving his right hand proved to be more effective for exploring his environment and he quickly discovered he was handcuffed to and slumped over the end of a table, as well as sitting in a cheap metal folding chair that creaked whenever he shifted his weight.

 

Link rubbed his face and tried to think through what he remembered last. The handcuffs led him to assume the police must have arrested him, but, no, that wasn’t right. He only remembered running, from something, or someone. He was being chased and…

 

“I found you!” said a cheerful female voice from across the table. The owner sounded fairly young, though probably no younger than he was.

 

Light still made his head hurt, but Link cracked an eye open to peer across the room. The woman seated at the other end was blurry to him, but he could make out that she had red hair and a skin color that didn’t appear human (Not that people other than humans weren’t in the city, but they really weren’t all that common). Eventually, the pain became too much again and he covered his eyes with his free hand and leaned back in the chair. He was starting to feel a bit sick.

 

“Well, I suppose it was technically my men who found you, but that trap was arranged by me. Do you know how many of them I had to pull from their jobs for the sake of catching you?” asked the woman. Link heard her stand and begin to walk around the table towards him. Her footsteps stopped when she was standing behind him and the room was dead silent for a long moment.

 

“Too many,” she hissed in his ear, before she jabbed the wound on the side of his head.

 

Link shouted in pain and his instinctive flinch away from the woman’s finger nearly threw him from the chair. The chain of the handcuffs on his left wrist pulled tight against the table, however, and prevented him from completely tipping over.

 

The woman made a disappointed sound. “It seems that they didn’t understand when I told them I wanted you functional. I suppose I’ll add that lecture to my list of chores,” She sighed, then paused.

 

Link assumed she was waiting for him to say something. Instead, he opted to rest his forehead on the tabletop to hide his injury behind his arm.

 

“Anyway!” The woman said brightly. “Since I’m sparing your life and all, I expect your full cooperation.”

 

Wait, what? Things seemed to be progressing too fast for him to process, and Link lifted his head, shaking it in confusion. “Who…?” he mumbled.

 

“I suppose you wouldn’t know,” she mused, then shrugged and walked back to her seat on the other side of the table. “How about you don’t worry about that for now, and you listen to what I have to offer you?”

 

Link glowered at her- partially out of increasing dislike, and partially because it still hurt his head to open his eyes all the way.

 

“Oh, don’t worry. You won’t have to kill anyone. Well, not yet, anyway. See, I have some friends in dangerous territory, while _you_ have the ability to dodge large groups of people. I need you to be my messenger.”

 

Link tilted his head, slightly. Messenger? Dangerous territory? What was he getting into?

 

“Additionally, your debt will be forgiven in full and...well, let’s just say that farm outside of town will remain standing, shall we?” The woman added smugly.

 

That got his attention rather quickly, and he stared at her disbelievingly.

 

She snorted, “Oh, you couldn’t _possibly_ think you were being subtle about that. Now, listen- _when_ you start this position I am offering you, you will be relocated somewhere more...convenient. You will then receive a package with protective gear in it which you _will_ wear whenever I send you out with a delivery. Good help is hard to find, after all, and I don’t like having my talent shot to pieces.” She seemed to consider what she had just told him, then appeared to remember something. “By the way, I suggest you don’t go to any law enforcement about this incident. I’ll know.” She stood and walked over to him again, extending her hand. “Do we have a deal?”

 

Link stared at her for a moment to confirm for himself again that she was not human, then bit his lip. It looked like he had no option in this matter. What about his work on the farm, though? And even if he had a new apartment, there was still the issue of food…

 

“Your expenses will be taken care of,” the woman said dismissively as if she could read his mind. “We don’t need you leaving a paper trail, anyway. All you need to do is what I tell you.”

 

But was it worth working for an organization that made money by exploiting and killing people? Was it worth dying at the hands of whatever the job itself would land him in? Link scowled at the woman again, but all she did in return was smile smugly at him.

 

“Well, I can’t stay here forever,” she said pleasantly as she began walking toward the room’s exit. “It really is too bad about that farmer, though, he seemed like such a nice-”

 

That did it. “Yes!” Link blurted without thinking.

 

The woman stopped walking and turned around slowly. “‘Yes’ what?”

 

“I’ll work for you,” he muttered, staring at the table and refusing to look up. No going back on it now, but there was also no reason to seem excited about it.

 

The woman walked back over to him slowly until she stood before him, and before Link could even consider reacting, she had grabbed him by the chin and wrenched his eyes up to meet hers.

 

“Those are the words I like to hear!” she said cheerfully through a smile that was positively venomous.

 

Good goddesses what had he gotten himself into?

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

The next few days were actually surprisingly normal.

 

Well, normal minus the trip to the ER to get his injuries looked at. As it turned out, being hit hard in the head by a metal pipe was a good way to get a concussion. It was also a good way to get questioned about how exactly the injury was obtained.

 

Link had ended up saying he’d been mugged near his apartment, and that he didn’t know what his attacker had looked like- neither of which were complete lies. Actually, he basically _was_ mugged, albeit in a more long, drawn-out process. What really mattered was that it wouldn’t tie anything to the mafia.

 

Additionally, the strange woman he had talked to had taken his wallet before having him blindfolded, shoved into a van, and dumped off outside the hospital, so he didn’t have to bother finding an excuse for it still being in his possession. Link doubted she had wanted it to help him talk his way out of mentioning her, though.

 

At the end of the day, Link had no answers as to why his wallet had been taken, and he had been discharged from the hospital under the instructions to rest for a week. His injuries weren’t bad enough for any sort of special treatment, which, was probably good, and meant he didn’t have to spend the night. Unfortunately, he was still several miles from home and had no money or anything to pay cab fare with, so he was only left with the option of taking the bus home.

 

Link mentally debated with himself on whether to endure the noisy bus or go against doctor’s orders and just try to walk home, until someone walking past him shoved an envelope into his hands without a word. Before Link could stop him, the man ducked into a car which immediately took off.

 

Well...that happened. What could possibly be in the envelope that the guy wanted to get rid of so bad?

 

Throwing it away seemed like a waste without even taking a peek to see what it was, so Link attempted to open the envelope as subtly as he could. He then proceeded to drop the thing on the ground before hastily picking it back up and glancing around to see if anyone had seen him.

 

There was money in it. Quite a substantial bit of money, in fact- way more than he would need to get a taxi to his apartment, but at least that was one issue solved. The ride home was far more pleasant than the bus would have been.

 

When the taxi eventually pulled up to the shoddy-looking apartment building, the driver had to yell at Link to wake up and pay him. After hastily mumbling an apology and paying what he owed, Link stumbled out of the car and trudged into the complex. On a normal day, he would have taken the stairs since he didn’t trust the elevators to lift anything bigger than a small dog, but in his current state, he didn’t much care where he ended up in the building so long as he could sleep there.

 

Fortunately, the elevator managed to shudder and rumble up to the sixth floor. At least there was one benefit to taking it- his room was much closer this way. Walking to it was the easy part, though. Opening the door took him a few tries.

 

Once inside, Link tossed his keys on the counter and collapsed on his mattress on the floor. If there was anything unusual about his apartment, he was way too out of it to notice, and he fell asleep almost instantly.

 

\---

 

The next few days were more of the same, though his head did begin to get better. By the fourth day, he figured he was well enough to make the short trip to his mailbox. Link didn’t get much mail that was important, but if he didn’t clear out all the advertisements once in awhile, it would get too full for anything else.

 

This time turned out to be unusual and he found a small package in the box among all the junk mail. It was a smallish, brown box wrapped in a gratuitous amount of packaging tape, and without a return address, not even really bring addressed to him. He remembered the woman he had spoken with had told him to expect a package, yet he had a hard time believing this was what she had been referring to.

 

He took the box back to his room and wrestled the tape off with limited success (his army knife was now gunked up with tape glue and would need to be cleaned before he could fold it up again), and inside he found his wallet and...his phone? He hadn’t even realized that had been taken since he hadn’t been allowed to use electronic devices for the last few days and he had been keeping time with his ancient brick of a digital clock.

 

Link looked into the phone’s contacts and saw nothing different. Everything else seemed normal as well, so he assumed the phone had been taken for the purpose of getting his number and the numbers of the people he regularly interacted with.

 

While he was poking around the various apps he’d installed on the phone to see if anything had been changed, he noticed the corner of a piece of paper sticking out of its case. Separating the two revealed a note written in scrawled handwriting, and after deciphering a few scribbles as letters, he could determine it was a set of instructions:

 

_Ditch the apartment, gather your things, and get yourself to the closest bus stop.  
_ _You have 4 days. Be there by noon._

 

Oh.

 

He figured this was part of the “more convenient relocation” thing the woman had spoken to him about. Fortunately, most of Link’s things could be packed away in a few bags. Unfortunately, his mattress was not one of those things.

 

\---

 

By the day he was supposed to go to the bus stop to, he assumed, meet someone, Link had recovered from his injuries for the most part. The side of his head was still healing, but was an inconvenience at worst for now.

 

Speaking of inconveniences, carrying everything he owned down to the bus stop turned out to be a huge pain. It also made him either look like he had been evicted- which, he felt, none of the neighbors would be surprised by- or that he was taking a very long trip somewhere. Both made him something of a theft target.

 

He had been watching passersby carefully since five minutes to noon, when a car pulled up and the driver rolled down the window.

 

“You Link?” he asked nonchalantly.

 

Link nodded.

 

“Put your stuff in the trunk. You can sit in the back. I got one other guy to pick up who’s already called shotgun.”

 

Surprisingly, all of his things managed to fit in the car, and Link jumped into the back seat as fast as he could.

 

“Done? Alright, kid, buckle up. This ride could get bumpy,” the driver advised before throwing the car into drive and speeding toward the Southern half of the city.

 

Link grabbed the bar above the window and braced a foot against the front passenger’s seat. He turned to watch the apartment building disappear into the distance and hoped all this was worth leaving his mattress behind.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please don't open boxes with gratuitous amounts of packaging tape with Swiss Army knives. You will have regrets.


	4. Chapter 4

They had been driving for some time -maybe about twenty minutes- when the car suddenly jerked hard to the right. The streets were fairly empty in this part of town, and Link didn’t see anything the driver might have been dodging to this left, so he strained to see what their target was through the right window.

 

“Oh, for crying out loud,” the driver muttered as he slammed on the brakes and pulled up to the curb. “Hey, kid, push open the door in front of you, would you?”

 

Link stopped trying to look out the window, and managed to unbuckle his seatbelt. He leaned forward over the front seat, pulling on the handle on the inside of the door in front of him. Tugging it all the way back from his position was a bit difficult, but once the door was actually open, pushing it wasn’t all that hard. Of course, the second he got it open was when the gunfire started.

 

He fell back in his seat, ducked out of view, and prayed that the car had some sort of armor or magic built into it. Preferably both. Did anyone _not_ use both anymore?

 

His thoughts were interrupted when someone jumped into the passenger seat of the car and he heard the “plink plink” of something bouncing off the window above him. The car took off before the passenger seat door was closed all the way and something in a large, black case was thrown into the back seat with him.

 

“Why’d she send me of all people to pick you up?” the driver griped as the new person finally closed the door. “If I’d have known, I would have worn something a little more bulletproof!”

 

“She didn’t tell you?” responded a new voice- female from the sound of it.

 

“All she told me was that I was supposed to get here at twenty past noon sharp and that the person I was picking up wanted shotgun seat.”

 

“Hmm... “ the female voice sounded contemplative. “Who’s this?”

 

Link glanced up- he had been staring at his feet for the past few minutes. The current occupant of the front passenger seat was staring at him. She was Hylian- like him- and her face was red and smudged with who-knows-what from her run to the car. Her hair was tied back, but still in complete disarray and he couldn’t help but feel like he’d seen her before.

 

“Link,” he answered.

 

“He’s a new guy. I’m supposed to be moving him in a few miles from here.”

 

“So close to danger?” the woman said skeptically, looking at him again. “Do you have magic?”

 

Link shrugged- he’d never learned how to do magic himself. “I can use enchanted things.”

 

“So you know how to fight, then.”

 

Well, he greatly preferred to _run away_ , but he had enough skill to fight off an attacker if he needed to. He wasn’t nearly good enough to fight off a group of people, though. “Sort of,” Link responded.

 

The woman scowled at him. “You’ve got to be good at something. There’s no way you’d have been recruited if you were incompetent.”

 

“I’m going to be a messenger?” he offered as if that could answer all her questions.

 

Amazingly, it seemed to shed some light on something as the woman raised her eyebrows. “ _You?_ ” she asked incredulously.

 

Link shrugged again.

 

“Sorry to interrupt your interrogation, Miss Zelda, but we’re almost at your stop,” the driver grumbled.

 

“Oh!” the woman- Zelda- exclaimed. She reached back for the case she had thrown in the back seat. “You didn’t happen to hear about what happened to the last guy who was running messages in this part of town, did you?”

 

Link shook his head as the car came to a stop.

 

“Well, good luck! You’re going to need it!” she said cheerfully as she left.

 

While the car drove away from the curb, Link felt his concerns from several days ago start to pile up again.

 

\---

 

The car pulled up to an apartment building awhile later. It was a rather nice-looking building and was close to a grocery store and other commodities. Once Link had gathered his things, the driver gave him a set of keys and an envelope, wished him luck, and drove off somewhere, leaving him in front of the building without direction.

 

The keys had the number “501” engraved on them, so Link wandered into the apartment building and up to the fifth floor until he reached the appropriate door. When he got inside he was...surprised, to say the least.

 

The apartment was furnished- there was a refrigerator and a laundry room and everything. Link put his belongings down and, after exploring a bit, found there was a bed (minus bedding), a dishwasher, and a couch in the living space. Next to the couch, he found a rather large box with a note taped to it:

 

_Buy what you need in the next three days. You’ll receive your first job on the fourth day._

 

The note was written in the same scrawl as the last one, and Link wondered briefly if the mafia had a designated letter-writer or if it was just coincidence.

 

Opening the box revealed several things- more notes, a baseball bat case, a pair of shoes, several pairs of eye-wear, a large envelope, and several miscellaneous articles of clothing. He assumed the envelope had more money in it and opening it confirmed the suspicion. He set it aside and read the note attached to the shoes and clothing:

 

_You will wear these every time you are sent to deliver a message._

 

The shoes seemed to be normal tennis shoes- if there was anything off about them, he couldn’t tell. The sweatpants seemed normal, too, and so did the shirts. It wasn’t until he reached the workout gear that he noticed something was off.

 

They had seemed normal at first- a workout shirt and leggings. They seemed a bit hot to wear during the summer, but when he touched them, a chill shot through his arm. Link pulled his hand back immediately in shock. What had been done to them?

 

He gingerly picked up the shirt and held it at an angle to the light above his head. There was a faint reflection of...something off the shirt. It was magic, no doubt about it, but it wasn’t any magic he was familiar with. Putting it on gave him chills and an itch under his skin. On top of the pants he found another note:

 

_These are temporary. A different set will come for you soon._

 

He certainly hoped so. He wasn’t sure how long he’d be able to tolerate what he’d been given. Link put both articles of clothing back in the box and looked at the last object he’d been given- the baseball bat case. He wasn’t sure what he was expecting when he picked it up, but it was very apparent there was a bat inside it.

 

Opening the case revealed a metal bat, a pair of gloves, and another note. The gloves were cut off above the third knuckle which was a shame as they seemed to be made of rather nice leather. The note read:

 

_They’ll know you by this bat in due time, but until then, keep as low a profile as you can._

 

It was a weapon. Well, it was a bat, but he was supposed to use it as a weapon. Link bit his lip and wondered if he’d be able to bring himself to do so, but he had a feeling he would be growing used to it.

 

There was enough money in the envelope to buy sheets for his bed, as well as groceries to stock the  fridge. Link found it a bit strange (as well as worrying) that he hadn’t even done his job once, yet he was already living better than he was before. He was settled in by day two and had begun to relax a little. By day three, he had met some of his next door neighbors.

  
By day four his assignment had arrived- right on schedule. 


	5. Chapter 5

Link had been walking back to his apartment after helping one of his neighbors- a woman named Uli- put away her groceries, while her husband and son were out for the day. He had met her in the stairway after he had checked his mailbox for any sort of instruction for his supposed job for the day. Honestly, he wasn’t expecting any sort of mailed instruction, but there was really no harm in checking.

 

What he hadn’t anticipated was a rather cheerful person running into him in the hallway and shoving a strangely bulky envelope into his hands.

 

“Happy birthday!” the girl exclaimed. “I’d stay longer, but I’ve got to get to work! See you tonight!” She called as she disappeared down the stairs.

 

To his credit, Link had only stood dumbfounded for a few seconds before realizing what the letter was and actually opening the door to his place.

 

After making sure the door was locked and he was away from any place someone could look in on him, Link opened the envelope to find...another envelope. And a letter. The letter had the words “Read Me First!” scrawled on it. It was the same handwriting as every other letter he’d received so far. Who was writing these things?

 

As he started reading the letter, he found it cut straight to the chase:

 

_You will be delivering that second letter to a girl named Ashei. It’s coded, so you’d be better off not wasting your time opening it. Come up with a reason to give it to her, too. She’ll be testing you._

_Dress to make yourself not draw suspicion._

_Good luck._

 

At the bottom was a description of who Link was meeting, an address, and a meeting time. He had several hours, though most of those hours were going to be spent worrying. He was slightly familiar with disguising himself since he had done that to avoid the goons around his apartment before they had finally caught him, so he had that going. Now, how was he supposed to make a baseball bat case look _subtle?_

 

He supposed the best way would be to dress for it. He looked up the address on his laptop and found that there were, unfortunately, no baseball diamonds or places with batting cages anywhere nearby. There was a park, however, and though it appeared to be mainly for walking, it seemed to have enough space to warrant hitting a few baseballs. It was also about 10 blocks from the rendezvous point which meant he could walk there in about half an hour if he started at the park.

 

Actually, if he wanted to be _really_ convincing, Link figured hanging around the park for a few minutes would be even better. He didn’t have any baseballs, so he’d have to act like he was waiting for someone, but other than that, it seemed like a good plan. As for the letter excuse... he could probably just do the birthday thing that that girl who ran into him that morning had done. He wasn’t too sure what questions would be involved with the so-called “test,” and he figured he could probably improvise.

 

The meeting time was at 4pm, so reaching the park around 3 was necessary. Link made sure everything he needed was in order before then- outfit, bat, letter- and triple-checked the location and the directions to get there. Now he just had to put the outfit _on_.   

 

He really didn’t want to.

 

Specifically, he didn’t want to put on the workout stuff. He wasn’t sure how long he could bear them and, since he’d have to hide them under another layer of clothing, he would probably be sweltering. On the other hand, they would keep him from being hurt too badly- at least everything but his head, arms, and feet- and he had been told to wear them. Link was sure that whoever Ashei was, she would definitely be looking to make sure he was wearing them. Time to bite the bullet.

 

Once he had everything on, Link’s concerns about being too hot were eliminated. He wasn’t sure if the enchanted clothes were bespelled to keep him cool or if it was just his reaction to the unfamiliar magic, but the chills from the last time he’d tried the shirt on were returning.

 

He shoved the letter into the workout shirt- it was tight enough and he didn’t have anything convenient to carry the message in- then slung the baseball bat and case over his shoulder and left the apartment building.

 

\---

 

He managed to not be particularly fidgety in the taxi to the park, and even managed to keep up the act for about ten minutes while sitting on one of the benches while pretending to wait for someone. After that, though, Link started to feel antsy. He tried to pass it off as nervousness by staring at his phone and glancing up occasionally, but he wasn’t sure how well it worked.

 

He sat scuffing his shoes on the pavement for a good twenty minutes before deciding it was time to leave. After making sure to give a forlorn sigh, he stood and trudged to the park’s exit, turning left and walking toward a certain cafe at a certain intersection.

 

The cafe was nice- like most things in this part of the city. Link sat down at a table and glanced around, looking for someone who matched the description he had been given. After a few moments, he saw her- short, black hair parted in low pigtails, a red t-shirt, and jeans. She had a very serious face and Link began to feel a bit nervous about his job all over again.

 

Well, it was now or never. He pulled the letter out of his shirt and walked over to her as casually as he could manage. She was messing around on her phone, and hadn’t noticed him approach.

 

“Hey,” he greeted cheerfully.

 

She glanced up, expression neutral. She was apparently waiting for him to continue, so Link took the opportunity to sit down across from her.

 

“Sorry if you were waiting awhile,” he apologized. “Anyway, I brought your birthday gift with me!”

 

He handed her the envelope and, to his relief, she took it. He wasn’t prepared for her response, though.

 

“You know my birthday was last week, right?” she asked wryly, raising an eyebrow.

 

“Yeah,” he sighed. What could he possibly use as an excuse? “Well, uh, I just got moved in and everything, you know?”

 

There was a pause as Ashei glanced over the envelope. Link fidgeted and desperately hoped he was the only one feeling awkward.

 

“Where are you holed up now, anyway?” she asked. “Must be pretty far from your old place if it took you a week to finally meet me.”

 

“Ugh…” Link groaned- partially to uphold the ruse, and partially cursing himself for not bothering to prepare for this. “It’s mostly my new job doing that,” he grumbled.

 

Another pause. More fidgeting.

 

“They must be working you pretty hard,” the girl observed, then she stood. “Tell you what, I’m meeting up with everyone else at a bar not far from here. We can celebrate again over there, yeah?”

 

Link hesitated- he’d never been informed about this sort of thing, but if he declined it might seem a bit weird to onlookers. “Y-yeah, I have a few hours.”

 

“Good. Let’s go, then.”

 

Ashei began walking away toward the closest crosswalk. Link hurried to keep up with her and followed her through the twists and turns of the city streets until they had reached an alleyway. He found himself suddenly aware of the fact Ashei was wearing steel-toed boots.

 

“Well,” she began, face as impassive as it had been before. “That could have gone much worse.”

 

He wasn’t quite sure how to respond to a statement like that, so Link said nothing and shrugged.

 

“You never gave me an address back there, you kept fidgeting, and if you _really_ wanted to give the impression that we were friends, you should have walked beside me on the way here,” she listed. “If there was anyone dangerous nearby, they might have noticed something was up if they paid close enough attention.”

 

Ashei paused, seeming to think. Link picked at the sleeve of his t-shirt, hoping he’d be able to take off the enchanted clothes soon.

 

“You did have a reason to give me the letter, and you did have an excuse for a late gift, so you’re passable,” she concluded. “You’ll need to get better for more dangerous jobs, though.”

 

Link sighed in relief. Did this mean he could leave?

 

“Anyway, there are some people you should meet in that bar I mentioned. Let’s keep going, yeah?”

 

Of course.

 

Ashei led him a bit further down the alley and turned down another alley where the street opened up a bit more. To the left was a door that looked a little too rusty to be opened, but there wasn’t much else save for a dumpster and a few trash cans. Link wondered who these people he was going to meet were and hoped they were friendly.

  
Before he could think on it for too long, Ashei had shoved open the door and gestured that he follow her inside. Link prayed for the best and quickly followed behind her. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Right, well, it turns out hurting your fingers impedes your typing ability. Who'd have thunk it.


	6. Chapter 6

Link woke up face-down on a table with a pounding headache.

 

He jerked upright, thinking maybe he’d been dragged back to the room with the red-haired woman for somehow messing up, but he found he was...in a bar?

 

Right, Ashei had brought him here to meet some people. He leaned back in the chair he was sitting in and looked around. There were three other people scattered in various places around the room- a younger man about his age was sprawled out on the floor, Ashei was sitting against a wall, and an older man was face-down at the bar counter. All of them were still asleep.

 

Link rubbed his eyes and looked back down at the table he had been lying on. He noticed a piece of paper there that he hadn’t seen before and reached to pick it up. It was folded into three sections as if it had been in an envelope before. It had the handwriting that all the other letters did, but there was also a second person’s handwriting scrawled over it. It took Link a moment to realize the handwriting was _his_.

 

It seemed he had corrected himself a few times as several chunks of his handwriting appeared to be scratched out or written over. The top of the page had a single word written on it: _Cat_. The back of the page had a chart with the letters of the alphabet written in rows and columns on it. Some letters were circled and some had been crossed out- again, all in his handwriting. The front of the paper ultimately held a very short message:

 

_Determine his code-breaking skill. Use this letter._

_-Midna_

 

_That_ triggered his memory.

 

The bar was owned by a woman named Telma. Link got the impression that she knew a few people who could rough him up if he, or anyone else for that matter, gave her a hard time, but she was also cheerful and kind.

 

“Oh, my!” she’d said upon seeing him arrive with Ashei. “You’re a new face! What’s your name, honey?”

 

Ashei had nodded to him when Link was unsure whether or not to give the woman his actual name. “Link,” he’d answered simply.

 

He must have come off as nervous because Telma immediately introduced herself and assured him that the bar was a safe place. “If you need a place to lay low for awhile, this is the best place for it,” was what she told him. “The West Hyrule Mafia doesn’t pay much attention to us here.”

 

Link nodded, then jumped as Ashei called out for the others in the bar to, “Come meet the new guy.”

 

That was where his memory failed. There were three other people in the bar when they arrived- Shad was the name of the guy who was about his age, and Auru was the name of the older guy, but the third...he still eluded Link’s memory.

 

The rest of what happened that night came back to him in bits and pieces. Ashei had challenged him to decode the message she’d gotten and said if he could do it, she would pay for his drinks for the night. Link hadn’t thought she was serious about the whole party thing, but had decided to go along with it. While he tried to solve it, he remembered Shad babbling about history and Auru discussing politics. He couldn’t remember if either of them mentioned their actual jobs and made a mental note to ask later.

 

A “meow” brought Link back to the present as he looked up from the table. A white, fluffy cat had jumped up and sat down on the paper. He vaguely remembered the cat inspiring him to break the code which made sense given the fact that “cat” was written on the top of the paper. Something still bothered him, though- who was Midna? He guessed she might be the red-haired woman, but he would need someone else to confirm it. Link scratched one of the cat’s ears and decided it would be best to wait for everyone else to wake up before he left.

 

\---

 

Ashei was the first to rise. If she had a hangover, she didn’t show it and she almost immediately walked over to where Link was sitting.

 

“You still have that note, right?” she asked him.

 

Link nodded and slid it to her. She folded the paper back up and put it in the envelope.

 

“I need to take this back to her. It looks like she was right about you being something special,” Ashei explained as she prepared to leave.

 

“To Midna?” Link asked.

 

Ashei nodded. “I wouldn’t recommend saying that name outside of safe places like this, but yes, she is the one who recruited you.”

 

Link scowled at the word, but at least that was one of his questions answered. “Why does solving that code matter?”

 

“It means any coded messages you’re given need to be more complicated. You’ll never find anything as simple as this,” she explained, shaking the envelope for emphasis, “In an actual delivery, but anything you get will now have a more complicated cipher phrase. In essence, it means you can’t be trusted not to read these, and if you get captured, you could potentially decipher them.”

 

Link sighed irritably, but could see the logic in that decision. Before he could ask anything else, however, Ashei disappeared out the front door. A few minutes later, Telma entered the room from behind the bar.

 

“Rise and shine!” she called.

 

The other two men groaned as they reluctantly awakened.

 

“I hope you boys are ready to make this place presentable for today. Everything you need is in the broom closet,” Telma continued, pointing to a door near the entrance of the bar.

 

This time, Link grumbled with the rest of them. So _that_ was why Ashei had been so eager to leave. He surveyed the room again while he stood and trudged over to the closet- the bar wasn’t in complete disarray, at least. All that really needed to be cleaned was the floor and the table tops, which could be done relatively quickly with three people. Well, three _hungover_ people, but three people nonetheless.

 

Actually, now that he thought about it, being stuck cleaning the bar did give Link the opportunity to ask the questions he didn’t get to earlier. That was, if either of his new allies was in the mood to talk.

 

“Hey, Shad,” he began. “Do you know a lot about current events too? Or just history?”

 

“Current events become recent history, my friend,” Shad sighed as he picked up a broom. “What sort of information are you looking for?”

 

“What’s with the East and West Mafia thing?”

 

“Ah, that is a fascinating subject, but sadly, I have very little information on it,” he paused for a moment. “The most I know is that both appeared around the same time about ten years ago. There are rumors that the West Mafia’s leader is searching for something, but no one’s actually seen him, only his right hand man.”

 

“Do you know his name?” Link asked. “Uh, the right-hand guy. In case I hear him mentioned by someone. I’d like to avoid people who do,” he explained after Shad scowled uncertainly.

 

The explanation seemed to work as Shad gestured for him to come closer. After a brief glance around to assure himself of something, he spoke.

 

“Zant is his name,” Shad whispered. “But _do not_ speak it out loud on either side of the city. Don’t even speak it in this bar out loud. This place is safe, but you never know when someone could come barging in.”

 

Link raised his eyebrows and nodded. He made a mental note to avoid mentioning names in general around the west half of town. There was another question that had been gnawing at him for the past few days, though. “So is he from the same place as, uh, the boss?”

 

Shad nodded, “Both of them are members of the Twili race, though if they are what they claim to be, the legends say they shouldn’t be able to exist in our world as easily as they do,” he paused. “You probably shouldn’t talk about that outside of here either. There’s a reason you’ll never see people like them around the city.”

 

“Not something they teach you in school, I assume?” Link remarked as he brushed several cocktail napkins out from under one of the tables. They had more of the alphabet charts drawn on them, though there were tears where a pen had pressed down on them too hard.

 

“Only in specialized university classes. If you wish to discuss realms outside our own, it’s best to dedicate an entire class to it, after all,” Shad answered half-jokingly.

 

“Wait, you mean the boss isn’t from... here?” Link asked, pointing at the floor. He then thought better of it and gestured more broadly around himself.

 

“If the histories are accurate, they are from a place known as the Twilight Realm. Fitting for their name, wouldn’t you say?”

 

“But why are they in this world, then?”

 

Shad shrugged. “Unfortunately, I can’t tell you that, old boy. It’s a bit of a mystery to all of us, you know.”

 

Link frowned thoughtfully. He didn’t believe that Shad was completely clueless about Midna’s motives, but the topic was apparently not open for discussion. He’d have to figure it out himself somehow.

 

“So why history?” Link asked, breaking the silence between them. “It doesn’t really seem like something we’d need. Er, no offense.”

 

“Oh, none taken. History is more of a passionate hobby of mine,” Shad answered, brightening. “I actually deal with money management, but no one would ever go to a historian for help with numbers, you see.”

 

Link had to agree that it was a rather good disguise, and their conversation continued toward Shad’s research on an ancient race of sky people. Shad also gave him a list of places that were known fronts for the West Mafia and a few other places that he could use as safe houses in case things got particularly bad and he could no longer return home.

 

By the time they were done cleaning, Link knew the East Mafia’s territory down to the street corners and his headache had lessened. Auru had left as soon as possible to reach town hall before some sort of announcement was made, so learning more about him would need to wait. Shad had also left, though he hadn’t stated why, and Link eventually found himself alone in the bar with Telma and her cat.

 

“Well, that certainly went well!” She stated pleasantly.

 

Link nodded. It _was_ nice to know he had allies willing to help him and he wasn’t completely on his own.

 

“Just be careful who you trust, honey,” Telma advised, suddenly serious. “Even the people on the eastern side of town have their own motives. You don’t completely know them, after all.”

 

It was a good point, though Link highly doubted anyone else Midna recruited had his exact reason for joining. It could definitely be used to his advantage at some point, and it definitely put him on some sort of level ground with everyone else.

 

With nothing left to say and no one really left to talk to, Link headed toward the door and bid Telma farewell.

 

“Goodbye, honey! I want to see you at my bar again, you hear?”

  
Link agreed and exited the building. If the company was going to be like last night’s most of the time, how could he say no?  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it turns out that when you're kicked out of your campus housing due to your university's massive housing issue, working 40 hours a week, and taking an essay-heavy class all at the same time, you have very little time for writing, but the good news is that the class is over, so this fic should be back to regular updates for now!
> 
> Also, the type of encryption code mentioned in this chapter is called Vigenère cipher if you're interested in that sort of thing.


	7. Chapter 7

The following weeks were similarly calm for all of Link’s deliveries. He had grown accustomed to random people dropping letters off with him at home or when he was out doing chores, though he did find it a bit disconcerting how easily he was found. He made a mental note to see if changing up his routine would slow them down at all, and if it didn’t, to try and figure out who was feeding them information on his whereabouts. 

 

Presently, Link was in his apartment awaiting the delivery of another package. To his surprise, the most recent letter had been addressed to  _ him _ and had included not just a date, but a precise hour and minute he should expect said package. There was nothing saying who to contact if it didn’t arrive on time, so he assumed the delivery was either not all that important or the person delivering it was just that good.

 

The latter possibility ultimately proved to be true, at exactly 3:15pm, there was a knock on his door. When Link opened it, he found a package immediately shoved into his arms. He stepped backward to recover his balance, and the courier stepped into the apartment and closed the door behind them.

 

“I hope you don’t mind the intrusion,” said a female voice, “But I don’t particularly like hanging out in open areas, even in the safer parts of the city.”

 

Link looked up and discovered the voice belonged to the girl he had met in the taxi when he had first been relocated to his current apartment. “No, it’s fine,” he answered as he looked for a space to place the box. “You’re Zelda, right?” he guessed. 

 

“You must be good with faces,” she stated before taking a seat. “Were you told why I’m here?” 

 

“No. Not outside the package delivery,” Link answered as he opened the box. Inside was a set of workout clothes, but unlike his current ones, these ones didn’t make his skin crawl. Instead, the magic cast on them felt...familiar?

 

“Those are to replace your current armor,” Zelda explained. “I was in charge of enchanting them. I apologize they took so long to get here, but I have been extremely busy lately.”

 

Link hadn’t expected her to elaborate on her job considering how his new friends at the bar had kept the inner-workings of the East Mafia to themselves. 

 

“So do you want the old ones back, or…?”

 

“Yes, it would be unfortunate if the wrong person got ahold of them.”

 

Link began to suspect she might have been setting him up to ask questions now. Was this some sort of test? He wondered what purpose it could serve as he walked to his room to find his old armor. Did Midna want him to start asking questions? Did she want him to question nothing?

 

He still hadn’t figured out the answer when he had returned to the living room with the old set of workout clothes. He dumped them unceremoniously into the box the new ones had come in.

 

“Ah, good! Midna will have use for these,” Zelda said approvingly. She watched him for a beat before folding the box lid back together.

 

She  _ was _ trying to set questions up for him! About very specific things, too. Maybe she wanted to try and gauge how much he knew? 

 

_ This is confusing _ , Link thought to himself as Zelda sealed the package back up. 

 

“Anything I can help you with before I go?” she asked.

 

“Well, there is one question you could answer for me,” he paused. “Maybe.”

 

“I’ll be as helpful as I can,” she replied, smiling slightly. 

 

“If I run into something out of my league...something really unusual, I mean, or someone who’s kind of a big deal...Assuming I live, who would I contact about that?”

 

“If you find yourself in any situation where you believe you, personally, are in any danger that your bat can’t fix, leave a note on your door that indicates you will be leaving on a trip in two weeks,” Zelda answered promptly. “If what concerns you is, in fact, a real threat, it will be taken care of.”

 

_ Good to know _ , Link thought to himself, nodding in understanding. “That’s all I needed to know.”

 

“I’ll take my leave, then,” she replied as she picked up the box and headed toward the door. 

 

Zelda left without much dramatic flair, and Link actually began to wonder what job kept her so preoccupied. He didn’t dwell on it, though, and packed the new workout clothes away in his room. He was looking forward to not dreading putting them on every time he had to run a letter to someone. Hopefully.

 

***

 

The rest of Link’s schedule, when he wasn’t delivering messages, was spent learning how to properly swing a baseball bat and learning how to draw. He wasn’t entirely sure how useful bat-swinging technique would be if he had to use it on  _ people _ , but the last thing he wanted to do was pull something and be unable to defend himself. Plus, going to the batting cages gave him something to do other than lounge around his apartment all day staring at his computer and learning how to draw landscapes.

 

The sudden interest in art came to him when he realized it would easily give him an excuse to have a backpack full of paper and junk he could use to hide envelopes. It also gave him an excuse to be in some of the weirder parts of town. Well, he thought so, anyway. That’s what art students did, right? Hang around hole-in-the-wall coffee shops and try to get a feel for the “run down” parts of town? 

 

Well, even if it wasn’t, no one had looked twice at him or tried to mug him, so that was a success. Part of him wondered if it was because he openly carried the bat now since he had a legitimate excuse to have it in case anyone had started following him. Then again, he had it shoved horizontally in his backpack. It wasn’t like he was swinging it around all the time, so maybe he was just lucky.

 

Said person would also spend quite a lot of time in the park, which had become Link’s favorite hangout between multiple deliveries. Today, he had chosen a park bench to draw and people-watch from. His next letter was for Telma, so he wasn’t terribly worried about being late. He was due to deliver it in about half an hour. He only needed five minutes to walk there, but he’d give himself more time in case there were any crowded areas.

 

Packing up his things always took Link a few minutes as he liked to spread out every art supply he could possibly use on the bench (much to the irritation of the other park-goers), and then he liked to place them back in his bag in an organized manner. When he was finally done packing up, he threw his bag over his shoulder, spun around, and promptly collided with someone passing behind him, knocking them over.

 

“Sorry!” he blurted instantly, reaching a hand down to help the person up. “I wasn’t watching...um…”

 

The man he pulled to his feet was wearing loose-ish business clothing that bespoke professionalism, but was undoubtedly foreign. As for the rest of him, well...he looked eerily similar to Midna.

 

_ Oh, no. _

 

“That’s alright,” the man answered, to Link’s surprise. “I was distracted myself. I am still somewhat new to this city, you see.”

 

_ Play along _ . “Oh?” Link managed. 

 

“You are put off by my appearance?” the man asked, tilting his head slightly.

 

Link didn’t bother trying not to cringe. “Sorry, we, uh, just don’t get too many other races here besides Gorons…”

 

“Well, perhaps you can help me to make up for it,” the man suggested. 

 

“Um,” Link replied, hesitating. “Yeah, sure. What did you need?”

 

“I intend to meet with some friends at a certain bar, but I can’t seem to locate it.”

 

Link frowned. “There are a lot of bars around the city. Do you know which half of town it’s in? Does it have a name?” he asked. 

 

The man seemed thoughtful. “I believe it was called ‘Ordona’s Tavern’ or something similar?”

 

Link sighed internally with relief- if this man was who he thought he was, he wasn’t looking for Telma. “Must be important,” Link hazarded. “That’s a pretty upscale place.” 

 

“Yes, I suppose so,” the man replied, clearly attempting to end the conversation.

 

“If it’s not too much trouble, could I get your name?” Link asked tentatively. “It gets really crowded in that part of town and I’d hate to lose track of you.”

 

“You may refer to me as Zant,” the man answered coolly. “And you are?”

 

“Fado,” Link answered without missing a beat. He had figured out a false name to give to people weeks ago. “Shall we?” He stated, nodding his head in the direction of the bar.

 

While he seemed to be maintaining a cool outward appearance well enough, Link was sort of expecting a knife in his back the entire walk to the bar. Zant had shown no violent tendencies to him, and yet the fact that he gave his name out to anyone who asked said he wasn’t afraid of being found. Additionally, while Link worried about this, he also had to carefully answer all of the questions Zant began pelting him with over the din of the busy city streets. 

 

“So where do you live?” was the first one.

 

“Oh, I’m just an art student, so I’m pretty broke,” Link answered. “I live in one of the apartments towards the center of the city on East Avenue.” Giving his old address probably wouldn’t hurt. 

 

“Got any family?”

 

“Nah…” he sighed, trying to sound as forlorn as possible. 

 

“Pets?”

 

“Can’t afford ‘em,” he lied, then briefly wondered how Epona was doing.

 

“Hobbies?”

 

“Outside of drawing? Baseball, I guess.”

 

“Interesting…” Zant said to himself. 

 

Link briefly wondered if Zant had been in Hyrule long enough to know what baseball even  _ was _ . 

 

“Well, here we are,” Link announced, gesturing at the entrance of the bar. 

 

“Thank you,” Zant replied, clasping his shoulder. “I hope I can repay you someday.”

 

As soon as Zant let go of Link’s shoulder and had disappeared into the tavern, Link walked home as fast as physically possible. He had failed to deliver Telma’s message and desperately hoped whoever Midna had assigned to watching him could get the word to her fast enough. The second he entered his apartment, he snatched a piece of paper out of his printer and hastily scribbled a two-weeks vacation notice on it before taping it to the outside of the front door. 

 

He hastily retreated into his room and stayed out of sight of any windows. Zant had shown an uncomfortable interest in him and Link wouldn’t have found it surprising to find he’d been followed home. 

 

He would definitely need more than his bat to solve this problem. 

 

***

 

It had been several hours and Link’s nerves wouldn’t let him eat or sleep.

 

The time was around 10pm. A risked glance out the window told him that a light rain had settled in. The streets were still illuminated, of course. Link didn’t think there was a time people  _ weren’t _ bustling around the city. People walking by the apartment building were reduced to peculiar shapes by the wet glass. 

 

After staring at the ceiling for a while, it occurred to Link that Telma’s bar wouldn’t close until sometime after midnight. He hadn’t noticed any signs of Zant or danger outside his apartment for that matter, so he  _ could _ run over the message he’d failed to deliver to her. It would only take him about two hours to go there and come back, and it would be way more productive than sitting around doing nothing.

 

Link got dressed, pulled on his backpack, and grabbed his bat. By the time he had reached the streets below, he realized the bat might be a bit more suspicious now that it was night time. On the other hand, he could probably use it to defend himself in the less safe parts of town.

 

After a half an hour of walking, he was closer to the center of the city and the nighttime crowd had thinned out. The streetlamps were older in this part of town and gave off a dull, yellowish light. They illuminated the streets well enough, but the mist from the rain on the warmer pavement made it somewhat hard for Link to see more than a few feet in front of him. 

 

A trash can fell over with a loud “clang” in an alley behind him, making Link jump. When he turned around, there was nothing there other than the offending garbage receptacle lying halfway on the main sidewalk. The fog made it hard to tell, but something also moved away from the can and further into the alley.

 

_ Probably just a cat _ , he thought to himself as he continued to walk in the direction of the bar. He was making surprisingly good time. There was no one out in this part of town but him which meant he might even make the trip to the bar in forty-five minutes. 

 

A cat darted past Link’s feet at top speed and made Link jump again. At the same time a shuffling noise came from an alley a few yards behind him, but when he looked again, he saw nothing. 

 

He turned away and began walking for a second time, he felt the the hair on the back of his neck stand up. Was someone following him?

 

Link reached to his backpack to confirm that his bat was still there which was some assurance at least. He wondered if there was a way to look behind himself without turning his head. If we  _ was _ being followed, the one following him didn’t seem too keen on being spotted.

 

Then: an idea. Link pulled his phone out of his pocket and began cleaning the screen, occasionally holding it up to reflect the light of the streetlamps to seemingly reveal the smudges on it. In reality, he was hoping the reflection in it would reveal the person who may or may not have been following him. Unfortunately, he would have to catch them under a light in order for the plan to work.

 

But then, there, he spotted something. Link compelled himself to keep his act up and his pace steady because what was reflected in his phone was not at all human, goron, or any other race he knew of-shaped. 

 

The reflection was warped by the rain falling onto the phone screen, but it could, at least, convey the motion of the thing well enough. It  _ slunk _ like some sort of wild animal behind him, but he didn’t dare try for a good look at it. If it’s intent was to stalk him for as long as possible, it would likely charge the second it thought he noticed it. 

 

Link stuffed his phone back into his pocket. Was this thing sent by Zant? If so, what had Link done to reveal himself? Or was this just some sort of revenge for knocking him over? 

 

_ You did refer to the city by East and West halves _ , said a voice in the back of his head.

 

Had Zant been around long enough to know people didn’t necessarily do that? Only relying on that seemed sort of risky…

 

_ If he’s as strong as Shad implied, he probably doesn’t need too much of a reason to kill someone! _ said the voice.  _ He probably has magic, too! He probably noticed your armor when you helped him up! _

 

That thought stopped him in his tracks. He’d fucked up. He’d fucked up in potentially the  _ worst way possible. _ What use did the everyday civilian have for an enchanted-weapon-proof shirt?  

 

A noise from the alley a few feet behind him snapped him back to reality and he jumped forward and broke into a sprint without thinking. Before he realized his mistake, he heard the sound of a four-legged creature rushing down an alleyway and the sound of several more garbage cans crashing to their sides. 

 

Whatever the thing was, it wasn’t following him on the main sidewalk, but from between the buildings- there was a parallel alleyway to the street. From the sound of it, the thing- the  _ monster _ \- was only a few feet behind him and gaining fast. Link dared a glance to his left when the sound of the creature running caught up to him, and what he saw compelled him to put on a burst of speed.

 

The fog still obscured the thing, but he could tell it had a flat face and markings that glowed red even through the mist. His speed didn’t seem to make a difference now, however, as the monster was able to keep pace with him without issue. Link refused to take his eyes off it and only occasionally glanced in front of himself to ensure he didn’t trip over any uneven areas in the pavement. 

 

Then, the next time an alley crossed his vision, the thing had disappeared.

 

_ Where? _ he thought in confusion, not daring to slow down, but tossing a glance over his shoulder. 

 

Nothing. 

 

By the time Link looked forward again and saw movement in the next alley, he couldn’t stop in time to change direction.

 

_ Something _ lunged out from the dark and Link’s reflexes from avoiding Midna’s men were probably the only thing that saved him. He dived beneath what turned out to be an arm, scrambled gracelessly to his feet thanks to his backpack, and began running again. To his surprise, the monster retreated back into the alley and began chasing him once more.

 

It was  _ toying _ with him!

 

Sometime while processing of the horror of  _ that _ realization, an idea began forming in Link’s head. 

 

After dodging a second lunge by the monster, it was becoming evident that it wasn’t trying to kill him right away. That was pretty terrible, but it  _ did _ give him something to work with.

 

The third time it disappeared, Link turned around and found the nearest fire escape. He pulled the fingerless gloves that had come with his initial supply box out of a side pocket in his backpack, but even with their help, the ladder was slippery from the rain and required far more effort to climb than Link anticipated. By the time, he’d reached the first platform, he could hear the creature crashing back through the garbage cans it had knocked over while running ahead of him. By the time Link had reached the third platform, he felt the entire structure shudder around him and suddenly felt very grateful this particular fire escape utilized a ladder rather than stairs.

 

Above the streetlamps, Link’s visibility improved slightly, which was quite helpful when he vaulted over the edge of the building and onto the roof. The building itself shook somewhat as the monster followed him, but it was having far more trouble with the slippery metal than he had which gave him time. Link pulled the bat out of his backpack and abandoned the bag altogether, tossing it toward a corner of the roof. If he was going to survive this, it would only slow him down. 

 

With the precious few seconds Link had left, he threw himself behind an air conditioning unit.

  
And waited. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now you must wait until next year for the thrilling conclusion of this scene! ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> (Unless you're already in 2016)


	8. Chapter 8

The cement barrier around the edge of the roof cracked and groaned as it was used as leverage by something that had no business existing. 

 

Well, in Link’s opinion, anyway. He was sure there was one person in the city who had intended for it to come into being. 

 

He wasn’t sure why everything had suddenly gone quiet, though.

 

The only light on the roof came from a small bulb illuminating the door to a flight of stairs that lead down to the top floor of the building. It was positioned in front of Link, guaranteeing he would be seen if he moved from his hiding spot. 

 

All he could do was wait.

 

The air conditioning unit gave a groan behind him, but Link remained rooted to the roof. If he was going to be caught, it wasn’t because he was scared by something as dumb as  _ that _ . He still couldn’t hear any movement near the edge of the building, though. That remained concerning.

 

Had the monster left? Maybe the effort of climbing the building to get at him hadn’t been worth it. He should be hearing it walk around in the puddles, right? The roof was covered in them. He could still hear the rain falling quietly and pattering against the metallic structures on the roof.

 

The air conditioning unit creaked and Link shot it an irritated glare as he pondered whether or not he should risk a glance around it. Maybe he should abandon it altogether? If it kept making noise, it was bound to attract the monster’s attention if it was merely waiting him out-

 

The air conditioning unit made a noise that was very uncharacteristic of air conditioning units. 

 

A moment of terrible clarity settled over Link.

 

He turned away from the stair light and let his gaze slowly climb to the top of his hiding place. A flat, intricately carved metal face stared back.

 

If Link wasn’t appreciative enough of his armor before, he was certainly appreciative of it now. As he tried to jump forward toward the light, the monster sent him sprawling about ten feet to the left with a swing of its arm. The armor had not negated any of the momentum the hit gave him, but it did absorb the impact of the blow, allowing Link to recover faster. The thing was after him now, and didn’t seem in the mood to toy with him anymore after being tricked and following him to the roof.

 

He could get a good look at it now, though- it was front-heavy and its arms were far longer than its back legs. It had strange tendrils growing from above and below its faceplate, and its skin had strange, darker designs on it along with the red ones. It was not made to be subtle, it was made to shock and kill. Link found himself instinctively repulsed by it, yet completely frozen up in fear.

 

Stopping ended up costing him precious time as the monster leaped straight at him. Its forearms were long and unavoidable at close range, and it knocked him even farther with the second blow it landed. It threw him frighteningly close to the edge of the building, and yet, somehow, Link still had a hold of the bat. Now he needed a plan to  _ use _ it... 

 

Link could see a building about six feet from the one he was standing on. It was a longer building with a chain link fence around its perimeter, and had more structures on the roof- more air conditioners, more electrical boxes. It looked like a much more ideal space to fight in than the roof he was on  _ now _ .

 

He needed a running start to reach the other building. Thanks to the rain, even that part of his plan was dangerous, even  _ with _ the traction the specialized soles of his shoes would provide, but he was counting on the monster having a worse time at it than him. In fact, his newly-formed plan hinged on it.

 

He would need both hands to make this jump, so he would also have to throw the bat beforehand. If he threw it  _ now _ he would be unarmed, but slightly more maneuverable. The monster would have to get a lucky shot at his head or feet to stop him, and if it hit either of those, he was done for anyway. If he kept it, the bat could be used for defense, but it had a pretty small surface area for blocking incoming attacks, and if it was hit out of his hands, it would definitely go flying farther than Link would.

 

The monster had stalked closer to him. Link also needed a head start on scaling the fence, so he would have to find a way of stalling the thing on the roof they were currently on. 

 

He could do it without the bat.

 

Hopefully.

 

Before the monster charged again, Link threw the bat as hard as he could over the fence of the other building’s roof. To his relief, he heard it hit the other side and bounce around a bit, though he couldn’t see where it ultimately ended up. 

 

The monster dashed toward him. As he tried to plan on a way of momentarily slowing it down, it became apparent that the monster could not maintain its top speed and remain on the roof of the building they were both on without risking slipping and falling. As soggy as Link’s shoes were, they actually put him at a slight advantage over the thing in maneuverability, but this advantage didn’t seem to deter it at all if the monster even realized he had it. 

 

As he neared the location of the broken fire escape, how Link was going to slow the thing down enough for him to both jump to and climb the fence of the nearby building became apparent. As he passed by, he managed to snatch up two fist-sized chunks of concrete. The monster followed him to the opposite side of the roof- where the stairs were- and that was where Link stopped running. 

 

This would be risky.

 

The monster prowled toward him slowly, possibly confused why he had stopped fleeing it. Or maybe it thought he had given up. Link wasn’t sure. It was hard to read the expression of something that didn’t have a face. 

 

Link carefully circled around the thing and it followed him just as slowly. When his back was to the air conditioning unit, he turned around and ran toward it. As expected, the monster followed, but he needed it to run  _ faster _ . 

 

He deviated away from his path toward the air conditioner and ran back toward the opposite side of the building. As he did so, Link threw one of the two concrete chunks he had picked up at the monster. The concrete bounced off the its faceplate and seemed to do no damage to it, but it had the desired effect, anyway. The thing put on a burst of speed just as the two of them were approaching one of the building’s corners.

 

Link jumped to the left and kept on running. The monster managed to also make the turn, but not before one of its hind legs crashed into the ledge of the roof. It continued to chase him, but it was recovering much more slowly. If it bled, Link couldn’t see it in the dark. 

 

He ran straight toward the air conditioning unit this time and threw the second concrete chunk. Again, it bounced harmlessly off the thing’s face, and again, it caused it to put on a burst of speed. It didn’t seem to care about its leg injury if it had sustained one at all. 

 

Instead of changing his path from the air conditioner and turning like he had at the corner of the building, Link instead jumped and vaulted over the damaged appliance. As he landed, he heard the sound of metal colliding with metal and a heavy “thump.” He risked a glance over his shoulder to find the monster had been unable to turn or stop and had hit the metal box head-on. It was stumbling to its feet by the time he had reached the opposite side of the building and jumped the gap to the fence. 

 

The chainlink fence was rusty which meant it was a good handhold in the rain, but only because it bit into Link’s fingers. He was starting to appreciate his gloves along with his armor now as he scrambled over it and began to frantically look for his bat. 

 

The fence rattled as the monster landed on it. Unlike Link, however, it seemed to have had enough of vertical climbing and had opted instead to tear through the metal. Link jumped behind an electrical box and snuck around to another air conditioner to get a look at the monster before it could hide, but just as before, once it had gotten onto the building, it disappeared. 

 

Link decided against using the same tactic of staying in place as he had before, but this time he was slightly less concerned about being ambushed from above. Though, if the monster  _ did _ decide to stay off the various things attached to the roof, he would have to-

 

The attack seemed to come out of nowhere.

 

Link found himself flying towards the chainlink fence. He suspected the impact dented it, but he didn’t get the chance to look before he was knocked toward the opposite side of the roof. This time his momentum was stopped by an electrical box and his reward was a knock to the head that made him see stars for a moment. He did manage to dodge the next attack, however, and roll out from under the monster’s feet. It was clearly no longer in the mood to chase him now and followed behind him in what appeared to be a reluctant manner as he hurried to the nearest corner of the building.

 

Putting distance between himself and the monster was well and good, but Link still desperately needed the bat now if he wanted to stand a chance. It couldn’t be too far away from the hole the monster had torn in the fence. He wiped the rainwater away from his eyes and ran back towards it, only to see the monster loping parallel to him on the roof the same way it had while they had been on the street.

 

The bat had ultimately come to a rest between two air conditioning units, but either the monster knew a weapon when it saw one and had blocked him from it intentionally or had chosen the worst possible place to come at Link from. Link managed to feint to the right in an attempt to get behind it, but it was intent on blocking his path.

 

Yeah, it definitely knew the bat was a weapon.

 

Link scowled. This would require doing something even dumber than what he’d already been doing. The thing was blocking his way to the bat with it’s body, but that also meant…

 

He charged at the monster at full speed. It moved out about a foot to intercept him, but at the last second, Link dodged to the right and jumped up onto the air conditioning unit there. He rolled, rather gracelessly, off of it, but the monster had to shuffle awkwardly around to face him again. By the time it had fully turned, Link was in possession of the bat again. 

 

The monster charged. Link swung the bat at its head as hard as he could.

 

_ CLANG! _

 

Link was gaining a new appreciation for  _ all _ of his equipment. The hit didn’t seem to do the monster any harm, but it did seem to stun it. The bat, however, had conducted no vibration into his hands. The person who enchanted it had really known what they were doing. 

 

Link filed away the idea to ask Zelda about it later and ran out to a clearer part of the roof. The monster followed and immediately went on the offensive. Link took to striking at its limbs as they reached for him, but also found himself being directed, and didn’t notice where until he heard the squeak of rusty, damaged, metal.

 

It was pushing him back toward the hole in the fence. 

 

This was not part of Link’s plan. This was the exact opposite of it, now that he thought about it. 

 

The monster was just charging at him now. He knew he had damaged its limbs as it ran awkwardly, though still with great effect. It had forced him only a few feet from the edge of the building now and Link was beginning to feel how tired he was. If the fight dragged on anymore, he would lose from exhaustion at some point. 

 

So instead, Link threw the bat at the monster and struck its left forelimb. The monster reacted predictably again and charged. 

 

He would have one shot at this.

 

Link wiped the rain from his eyes again and backed up to the edge of the rooftop. When the monster was a few feet in front of him, he jumped and swung himself onto the intact part of the fence. 

 

The monster, expecting a heavy, Link-shaped object to absorb its momentum, suddenly had to stop itself on the wet tar roofing and it’s own battered limbs. 

 

It’s left leg gave out under it and it skidded straight off the edge of the building. 

 

Link watched it fall and land on the ground with an echoing  _ thud _ . Then, before his very eyes, it dissipated into thin air, leaving only a dent in the pavement as a sign that it was there. 

 

He carefully swung back onto the roof, found his bat, and sat down to catch his breath, not caring if his already soaked clothes got even more waterlogged. Once the adrenaline began to wear off, all of the injuries he had sustained made themselves known. His hands hurt from all of the diving he had done on his bare hands, his lungs burned, the back of his head hurt from his many collisions with various objects and the ground, and he found the water he thought he had been wiping from his eyes was actually blood from a head wound. 

 

Before his body prevented him from moving completely, Link jumped the gap between the buildings again to retrieve his backpack. It was soaked through. He wasn’t sure how well-preserved the message he was supposed to deliver would be. 

 

Link sighed and descended the remains of the fire escape as carefully as possible. He had lost an hour in that fight. He would need to hurry to get to Telma’s bar if he wanted to make it there before it closed. He would probably need some medical treatment.

  
And a stiff drink. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just so you guys know, I'm going to probably start dividing my time between this fic and an original work soon, so if the update schedule slows down, that's why!


	9. Chapter 9

By the time Link had arrived at the bar, it was mostly empty.

 

Shad and Ashei were there arguing quietly about a document on a table while Telma was cleaning the bar for closing time. They had all glanced toward the door when he walked in. Any and all activity died at that moment.

 

LInk had no doubt that it was because of his appearance. Or maybe it was his bat. Link had noticed on his way over that it was covered in some weird, black ichor that wasn’t coming off in the rain, and he had decided that leaving it outside the bar was  _ not _ a good idea as anyone with knowledge of what attacked him might be able to identify what the stuff was. Instead, he had pulled out a handful of sopping wet papers from his backpack and placed them on the floor in the broom closet. Then, he stood the bat on its barrel and braced the opposite end against the wall. When he was satisfied it wasn’t going to make a mess of the floor, Link headed to the bathroom at the back wall of the bar.

 

He opened the door and headed immediately for a sink. Link peeled off his gloves, turned on the water, and began picking the debris out of his hands that had been ground in from his many dives onto the pavement. It stung at first, but the cold water eventually numbed his hands to it. Only after they were clean did he look at himself in the mirror.

 

Well, it was abundantly clear that everyone had not, in fact, stopped and stared at him because of the bat. There was quite a bit of dried blood on his face that hadn’t been washed away by the rain. Its source was a gouge above his right eyebrow that seemed to have closed by itself at least. There were a few scrapes on his left cheek, but they didn’t look particularly serious, and on top of it all, he looked like a drowned rat. 

 

“Link?” came Shad’s voice from behind the door. “Is everything alright?”

 

Ashei’s voice also came through the door, but it was muffled. Link thought it sounded like she’d said something about how obvious it was that he was very much not ok and that they should help him immediately. 

 

“I’m f-fine,” Link stammered, suddenly overwhelmed by a wave of nausea. He braced his elbows on the sink and waited for it to pass.  

 

He could have  _ died _ . 

 

Link splashed water on his face and tried to clean his injuries to take his mind off things. He was suddenly grateful he hadn’t been able to eat anything before leaving his apartment. He wouldn’t have been able to keep it-

 

The door burst open and Ashei stormed in, making Link jump. Shad was standing outside looking a bit guilty and Telma was standing behind him.

 

“Ashei, you can’t just barge in on people in the bathroom!” Shad protested.

 

She ignored him and began inspecting Link’s wounds, starting with his hands. 

 

“You did fine cleaning them, but you’ll want to bandage them. Same with that cut on your forehead. Did you get knocked in the head?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“We should ice that, then. Come on,” she demanded as she dragged Link out of the bathroom. 

 

The other two had already moved out of the way. Telma hurried behind her bar and began preparing a bag of ice and Shad stood by looking concerned. Ashei pulled a first aid kit out of the bag of papers she had abandoned when Link had first entered the bar.

 

“Why do you-” Link began.

 

“For situations like these,” she answered automatically. “Alright, here’s how you should dress your hands…”

 

Ashei showed him how to place the gauze on his palm and wrap it in place with medical tape. She then let him try on the hand she didn’t bandage herself and Link managed it, albeit a bit clumsily. The cut above his eyebrow needed a butterfly bandage, but it wasn’t anything serious. Once Telma had given him the bag of ice to press against the back of his head, Link sat down and didn’t think he would ever get up again.

 

There was silence in the bar for a full minute. Telma was still behind the counter, seemingly looking for something. Ashei was staring at him patiently from the position she had taken in front of it. Shad was sitting at the same table Link was and looked rather impatient. 

 

“Who taught you to do all this?” Link asked Ashei, gesturing at his injuries. 

 

“My dad,” she answered. 

 

Silence. 

 

“What  _ happened _ to you?” Shad blurted. “What’s on your  _ bat _ ?”

 

_ Oh _ , Link thought. That explained why everyone was being so quiet. How was he even supposed to start this sort of conversation? 

 

“This first, honey,” Telma said before he could answer. “It’ll help settle your nerves.” 

 

She placed a shot glass on the counter and Ashei brought it over to Link who looked at the glass dubiously. After a moment, he decided that the worst thing that could possibly happen from doing the shot was a repeat of what happened several weeks ago. He knocked it back and wheezed at the burn. While this was happening, Telma had come out from behind the bar and had chosen to stand by Ashei. All eyes were on him now. 

 

“Just start at the beginning, honey. The bar’s all locked up for the night. It’s perfectly safe,” Telma encouraged. 

 

Link doubted the bar was completely safe, but it was better than being out in the rain. He cleared his throat.

 

“I was in the park this afternoon…” he began.

 

***

 

When he had finished, everyone in the bar was quiet again. Link noticed their expressions ranged from mere concern to nervous fear.

 

“I’m not really sure whether to call you stupid or ridiculously brave,” Ashei said, breaking the silence.

 

“Should I have stayed home?” Link asked.

 

Ashei shrugged. “Maybe. Maybe not. I have no idea if your apartment building was made to repel monsters.”

 

“You mean there are some that are?” Link asked irritably. Why hadn’t he been told monsters could appear in the city?

 

Ashei shrugged. “I’m only guessing. Besides, I’d call you lucky above all else. Remember what I said about Midna not telling you what happened to the last messenger?”

 

It took Link mere seconds to connect the dots. He started to feel sick again. “You mean more of those things will be after me?”

 

“Shadow beasts to be accurate,” Shad interrupted. He had a netbook open in front of him. “They’ve appeared elsewhere in the city fairly frequently. According to the report data I’ve gathered, seeing one on its own is quite rare. They tend to appear in groups of three or more, but then, they have always attacked bigger groups of people.”

 

“I feel super lucky right now,” Link grumbled. 

 

“You still might be. Zant told you his real name which means he’s either got a huge ego or he doesn’t see you as a threat. You can use both of those to your advantage. Sending the single shadow beast after you either means he was testing you or he was underestimating you...and he wanted payback for you knocking him over,” Ashei reasoned. “And if he knows it’s dead, he doesn’t really have any proof you killed it.”

 

“And your injuries don’t exactly give away that you were attacked by anything, really,” Shad added. “You mostly look like you took a nasty tumble down the stairs.”

 

Link sighed and suddenly found he was very, very tired. “Do either of you have a car or something?” he asked, changing the subject. “I’d like to go home and I don’t really feel like walking anymore.”

 

“Oh, you can say,” Telma offered. “I have a bed I can set up! You aren’t the first person to take shelter here for a night.”

 

“Thank you,” he said sincerely. Honestly, Link could have slept in a chair at a table like he had before. He wasn’t going to pass on a bed, though. 

 

Ashei and Shad left and Link hoped they stuck together while walking home. He was starting to worry again. 

 

_ They’ll be fine _ , he told himself.  _ Zant hasn’t seen either of them. There’s no reason them to be targets _ .

 

Still, he couldn’t help it, even when Telma showed him where the bed was and had bidden him goodnight. He sat down and wondered if he would get any sleep at all for the rest of the night. Ultimately, though, once he had actually lied down, he didn’t even remember his head hitting the pillow.

 

***

 

Waking up was one of the least pleasant experiences of Link’s life. That included fighting the shadow beast.

 

His head was pounding, his muscles ached and cramped, and his clothes were a dirty mess that he had managed to overlook the previous night. He wasn’t sure when he would be able to get home since his appearance would undoubtedly draw attention. Especially on this side of the city.

 

Link pulled his phone from his pocket to check the time and found the screen had been cracked. He frowned, but it was still responsive, at least. It was about 10am which was a lot earlier than he anticipated waking up. Then again, the previous night’s events still had him on edge, so he wasn’t about to go back to sleep. Instead, he walked into the main room of the bar to see if anyone was around.

 

Telma was behind the counter and was seemingly preparing for the day. She noticed Link’s arrival almost immediately.

 

“Gather up your things, honey! Your ride will be here in a few minutes!”

 

His ride? Link wondered if said ride would be taking him back to the apartment he had been living in or a new one. Regardless, he retrieved his backpack and bat from the closet, the latter of which was still covered in an unidentifiable gunk, and sat at a table. At that moment, he had realized he had never given Telma her message. Was it still in his backpack? And more importantly, was it still legible? Digging through the bag revealed the letter. It seemed to have survived the soaking many of the other papers received. 

 

“I was supposed to deliver this to you yesterday,” he started, placing the envelope on the table. “But I didn’t get around to it because of...yeah.”

 

“Oh, that note was just a reminder to me,” Telma responded, waving it off. “I knew it was coming. I’ll take it and get rid of it for you, but don’t feel too bad about not getting it here on time.”

 

So he’d put himself at risk for no reason. Link sighed to himself.  _ Then again, there’s no way of knowing the shadow beast couldn’t have broken into the apartment building _ , he reasoned. 

 

“Speaking of being on time,” Telma continued, staring at her phone. “Your ride is here.”

 

Link hastily zipped up his bag and headed toward the door. “Thanks for letting me stay here overnight!” he called.

 

“Don’t mention it!” Telma responded as he left the building. 

 

Walking out to the road revealed a taxi driven by the same man who had originally driven Link to his new apartment weeks ago.

 

“Good to see your still alive,” the man said as Link entered the taxi. “You’ll wanna get comfortable back there. This’ll be a long ride.”

 

Link hadn’t anticipated exactly how long of a drive it would be. They ended up driving around the city for  _ hours _ . The moving car had nearly put Link to sleep by the time it finally stopped at a rather normal looking office building.

 

“Up three floors, fourth room to the right from the elevator,” the man said as Link left. 

 

Link wondered what in the office building could help him out of his predicament, but by this point he had learned asking didn’t usually get him straight answers. As he entered the building, he didn’t notice anything strange other than everyone seemed to be in business formal clothing except for him. No one spared him a glance, however, and the secretary at the front desk didn’t even stop him as Link entered the elevator.

 

Following the instructions the taxi driver had provided, Link found a door to what appeared to be a meeting room. The sliding plastic indicator above the doorknob said the room was occupied, but Link entered it anyway.

  
Inside, he first noticed Zelda was there. She, like everyone else in the building, was formally dressed. Sitting in the chair to her left was an equally formally dressed Midna. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Job hunt hell has been keeping me from this fic, but it isn't dead


End file.
